The 22-year-old leads the best young rider classification courtesy of an impressive time trial.
The 57th edition of the “Race of the Two Seas” got underway from Lido di Camaiore with a flat, fast and non-technical 13.9km stage against the clock. A debutant at the Italian event, Remco Evenepoel was the last Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider to roll down the start ramp in what was just his second ITT this season, following the one he convincingly won at the Volta ao Algarve, and the Belgian youngster produced another impressive ride to confirm his credentials in the discipline.
Stopping the clock in 15:27 – just 11 seconds off the winning time of Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) – after averaging close to 54km/h, brought Remco his fifth podium of the season and a visit to the podium, where he got in possession of the white jersey rewarding the best young rider of the competition.
The Belgian was one of the two Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl riders in the top 5 Monday afternoon, alongside Kasper Asgreen, who held the fastest time before eventually concluding in fourth place – their results putting the Wolfpack at the top of the Tirreno-Adriatico team classification.
“I think I could maybe go a little faster but at the end of the day I think I took the maximum out of my legs, so second is maybe the best result. I wasn’t interested in how much time I could put into the other riders, my sole focus was to do a strong time trial. I would have liked to be in the blue jersey today, but white is also nice. Now I’ll recover after my effort and continue to take it day by day, while helping the team go for some nice results at this beautiful race”, said Remco after the podium ceremony.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
